Device for feeding fiber to fiber-treating machines



(No Model.) 2 sheets-sheer, 1. J. M. BLAISDELL. DEVICE FOR FEEDING FIBER TO- FIBER TREATING MACHINES.

No. 576,298. Patented Feb.,2, 1897.

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I I. I 'MMI IPI (No Modell) 2 sneeuw-sheet 2.

J. M. BLAISDELL.

DEVICE EUR IEEDING FIBER T0 FIBER TREATING MACHINES.

No. 576,298. Patented Feb.. 2, 1897.

Tm: nonms 51ans co., Pnooumo.. WASHINGTON, D, c.

NTTED STATES ATENT OFFICE..

JAMES M. BLAISDELL, Ol1`lVIN'll`lROP, MASSACHUSETTS.

DEVICE FOR FEEDING FiBER TO FIBER-TREATING MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 576,298, dated February 2, 1897'.

Serial No. 591,996. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, zit 'n1/ty concern..-

Be it known that I, JAMES M. BLAISDELL, of Winthrop, county of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Devices for Feeding Fiber to Fiber- Treating Machines, of Which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a speciiication, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

The present invention relates to a machine for feeding a fibrous substance, such as card and picker Waste, to a machine for treating the same, such, for example, as a cleaner, or spinners Waste to a thread-extractor, the nature of the material to be fed being such that it cannot be fed by gravity, but has to be positively acted upon, it having been usually the custom to feed by hand, thus requiring an attendant for each machine.

The present invention relates to a machine operating on substantially the same principle as that shown and described in Letters Patent No. 545,189, granted to me on the 27th day of August, 1895, in which the feeding is accomplished by the operation of feeding dcvices which act upon the material to force the same through an opening into the machine Which is to be fed, in combination with devices for bringing the material into a position to be operated upon by said feeding devices, it being necessary to provide means for supplying the said feeding device with the material in bulk.

The present invention relates to an improved machine for this purpose; and it consists mainly in novel devices for properly supplying the material to the feeding devices, Which may be and are shown as reciprocating plungers, substantially as in my prior patent above referred to, operating to positively feed the material thus supplied through an opening to the machine in which the material is to be treated.

The machine embodying the present invention consists mainly in the combination, with the feeding devices proper,l (in this instance the reciprocating plungers,) of afeed-hopper containing an agitating or stirring device adapted to be kept in motion by a suitable connecting mechanism with the source of power that operates the plungers, the said Stirringdcvice being so arranged that it tends to force material placed in the hopper toward the feed-opening, where said material is operated upon by the plungers and forced into and through the feed-opening of the treatingmachine.

The invention further consists in novel means for supporting the machine, whereby it is easily removed from its feeding position with relation to the treating-machine which is being fed, in order that the cover of said treatin g-machine may be rendered accessible, as is necessary from time to time during the operation thereof.

Figure lis an elevation of the machine embodying the invention; Fig. 2, a similar elevation taken on a plane at a right angle to that of Fig. l; Fig. 3, a sectional elevation of the machine, showing the stirring device contained in the hopper; and Fig. 4, a longitudinal section on a plane near the top of the hopper, showing the main portion of the operating mechanism in plan.

The feeding devices proper are herein shown as reciprocating plungers d, which are adapted to alternately move into and out of an opening b2 at the bottom of the hopper b, said opening being over an opening A2 in the casing of the treating-machine A, which is to be supplied with material, and maybe operated in any suitable Way. As herein shown, the said plungers are each provided with a slotted cross-head a2, having a slide-pin d3 cooperating With oppositely-extending cranks a4 on a shaft a5, driven in any suitable Way, so that the rotation of said shaft produces an opposite reciprocation of said plungers c.

In order to properly supply the material t0 the opening h2, Where it will be operated upon by the said feeding devices or plungersa, the hopper b is provided for the material to be fed, and the said material Within the hopper is acted upon by a stirring device consisting of a number of blades b3, carried by a rotating frame b4, mounted on a vertical spindle b5 near the center of the hopper, so that the said blades extend outward toward the periphery thereof and tend to carry the material in the hopper around the same, the said blades being preferably, as shown in Fig. 4, rearwardly inclined to the direction of rotation, whereby they tend to force the material Outward toward the periphery of the hopper,

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so that in the travel thereof it is brought directly over the opening b2, through which it is thrust by the plungers d. In order to increase this tendency, the frame b4, which earries the blade, is surmounted by a deflector h6, preferably in the form of a cone, by which the material contained in the hopper is deleeted toward the sides of the hopper, where it is operated upon by the stirring-blades b3, as above described.

Below the conical deflector there is preferably arranged a stationary conical or slanting surface bl, the blades being bent downward, as shown in Fig. 3, so as to travel close to the said surface, the object being to crowd the material downward and outward as the stirring device rotates.

The opening b2, through which the feeding devices proper, namely, the plungers a, reciprocate, is arranged, as shown, close to the periphery of the hopper b, the walls of the said hopper being flared or spread somewhat at that point, as shown in Fig. et, so as to afford a space between the ends of the blades b3 and the walls of the hopper over the said opening in order that the plungers may operate without interfering with the rotation of the stirring device. During the operation of the machine, therefore, the plungers alternately reciprocate, while the stirring device rotates, tending to force the material toward the sides of the hopper and carry it around the same, so that when it reaches the opening b2 it is forced into the space b2() between the wall of the hopper and the ends of the stirring-blades and under the plun gers and forced thereby downward through the opening.

The walls of the hopper, as shown, are bent inward at the sides of the opening b2, thus.

forming a recess or space b21 for the feeding devices, and, as indicated in Figs. 3 and 4, the inwardly-extending portion of the wall at the side toward which the stirrers travel in the rotation of the stirring device is cut away at substantially the level of the bottom of the feeding devices or plungers when at their maximum height, so that the material in the hopper is pushed along to a position directly over the openin g. The inwardly-extending wallon the opposite side of the space b21, however, is preferably unbroken, extending, as indicated at Z322, Fig. 4, to the bottom of the hopper, thus forming an abutment for the material carried around by the stirring device, whereby it is checked after reaching a position over the opening` b2.

As a further check to the material when it has been carried to feeding position a hook or projection Z923 is preferably provided extending inward beyond the inwardly-extending portion U22 of the w all of the hopper, somewhat above the opening, the said hook, as shown, standing over the stirring-blades, so that it tends to stop a portion of the material which would otherwise be carried by. The said hook, however, is not large enough to prevent any superliuous material from being carried onward bythe stirrers to be operated upon when it is again brought to a position over the opening. The said stirring device maybeconstructed and arranged in any suitable way and driven by any convenient operatin g mechanism, and, as herein shown, the cone h is secured to a vertical hub 198, forming part of the frame b4, which consists, as indicated in dotted lines, Fig. 4, of a number of arms extending outward from said hub and connected at or near their outer ends with a gear Zr, adapted to be driven by a worm c, as will be hereinafter described.

The blades b3 extend through slots Z112 in the wall of the cone la and are fastened at their inner ends to a collar 1913, secured, as by a set-screw Z114, upon the hub bs, so that the frame b4, the cone b, and the said blades b3 all travel simultaneously by the operation of the worm c.

The stationary surface bf consists of a piece of sheet metal having a central opening through which extends the hub bs, the said piece t7 being in the shape of a truncated cone having the edges of its base secured to the bottom of the hopper, which preferably consists, as shown, of a disk or plate B, provided with a flange B2, upon which rests the edge of the piece 227, which may be soldered or otherwise secured thereto, said disk or plate also having a flange B3, within which is contained the wall of the hopper l). The said disk B also serves as the main base or support for the remaining parts of the machine.

The power may be applied and transmitted to the various working parts of the apparatus in any suitable way, and, as herein shown, the shaft aiwhieh, as has been described above, is connected through the cranks a4 and slotted cross-heads a2 to the plun gers al, is driven by a gear a, meshing with a gear a7 upon a counter-shaft a8, provided with a pulley a, adapted to be driven by a belt.

The shaft a5 and counter-shaft as are supported upon an extension B4 from the baseplate B, brackets B5 being provided for this purpose, which are secured on the said extension. The bearings for the shaft a5 are formed, as shown, at the tops of the brackets B5, the upper members of said bearings being preferably formed in supplemental brackets BG, bolted or otherwise secured to the top of the bracket B5, said supplemental brackets extending upward above the gear a and affording a support for a guide d20, consisting of a plate or bar extending across from onev bracket to another and provided with openings azl, through which extend rods C422, connected to the cross-headsa2. A similar guide is provided extending across the lower portion of the brackets B5, and each cross-head a2 is provided with a similar rod extending downward therefrom to the said lower guide, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, so-that the said crossheads are properly supported in their reciprocating movement.

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The counter-shaft as is supported in a bearing B50 at the lower portion of the bracket B5.

In order to drive the Worm c, Which meshes with the gear b9 to rotate the frame which carries the stirring device, the said worm is mounted on a shaft c2, extending through an opening c3 in the Wall of the hopper and having a bearing c4 at one end Within the hopper and a bearing c5 at the opposite end mounted on a portion of the bracket B5 or extension thereof, and a gear c is secured to the end of the said shaft c2, meshing with an intermediate gear c7 on a short shaft cS in a bearing c, having also a member 010 of a so-called skewgear meshing with the other member C12 upon the end of the shaft a5, as best shown in Fig. 2.

The shaft c2, as shown in Fig. 3, passes below the edge of the rotating frame b4 and also under the surface o7, the bearing c4, the shaft c2, and the Worm c being thereby covered and protected from the material Within the hopper, so that they will operate freely Without becoming clogged or fouled.

To provide for the removal of the device from the top of the machine to which it is applied in order that the cover thereof may be lifted when necessary, the base portion B is provided with downwardly-extending ears or lugs B7, provided with openings, through which extend supporting-rods d, supported by brackets d2, adapted to be secured to the machine which is being fed, so that the feeding device is capable of being slid along said rods away from the top of the machine to which the device is applied, and when thus removed from the machine is supported upon the said bracket. To facilitate this operation, the handle c is provided and attached to a rock-shaft e2, supported in lugs es, secured to the outside of the base-plate B, the said rockshaft having a paWl c4, connected therewith at each end, adapted to cooperate with a notch d3 in each of the rods d, so that When the device is in operative position said paWls Will engage with the said notches and prevent the accidental removal thereof, While if it is desired to remove the machine the handle e may be iirst lifted to disengaging position and the machine then pulled along the guide-rods d by means of said handle until it is supported by the brackets d2 and the hopper portion removed from the cover of the machine to which it is applied.

It is not intended to limit the invention to the specific construction and arrangement herein shown and described, since obvious modifications may be made Without departing from the invention; nor is it intended to limit the invention to the combination of the stirrers or means for presenting the material to the feeding device proper with any special form of such feeding device, since the oper ation of that portion of the apparatus is not dependent upon the specific construction and arrangement of said feeding device, it being obvious that the material might be equally Well presented to a feeding device of any suitable construction.

I claiml. The combination with the feed-hopper having an opening through the bottoni near the periphery thereof, of a stirring device comprising arotating carrier Within said hopper having Wings or blades adapted to carry material therein from the middle toward the peri phery thereof, and a feeding device for positively feeding said material into said opening, substantially as described.

2. The combination With the feed-hopper, of oppositely-reciprocating plungers movable longitudinally through an opening at or near the periphery of said hopper, a stirring device consisting of a rotating carrier Within said hopper, anda series of transverse blades extending from said carrier toward the periphery of the hopper, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a feed hopper adapted to contain fibrous material and provided With a feed-opening through the bottom and near the periphery thereof; of a stirring device comprising a rotating carrier having a series of blades or Wings along the periphery thereof and extending therefrom substantially to the periphery of the hopper, a centrally-located deiiecting-surface adapted to deiiect the contents of the hopper toward said Wings or blades, and a feeding device for positively feeding said contents into the feedopening, substantially as described.

4f. The combination With a substantially cylindrical feed-hopper having a portion of its Wall extended beyond the periphery of a true cylinder, of a stirring device comprising a rotatable carrier having Win gs or blades extending radially from the center of said hopper to the periphery of the main portion thereof, a spindle coaxial with said hopper upon which said stirring device is mounted, and a feedopening from the'hopper adjacent to said eX- tended portion of the Wall thereof, substantially as described.

5. The combination with the hopper provided With a feed-opening near the periphery thereof, of a floor or surface for said hopper sloping upward from the periphery toward the center thereof, .a stirring device comprising the rotating carrier having a conical defleeting-surface risingabovesaid sloping floor, a series of Win gs or blades extending outward from said conical deflector toward the periphery of the hopper, said blades being bent or inclined to the rear with relation to the direction of rotation of said carrier, and a feeding device for positively feeding material into the said feed-opening,substantially as described.

6. The combination With a hopper, of a feedopening therein, a reciprocating plunger or plungers movable into and out of said opening, a stirring device consisting of a series of blades or Wings adapted to carry the material Within said hopper toward said feed-opening,

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a rotating carrier for said blades within said hopper and connecting mechanism whereby said plungers are reciprocated, and said carrier rotated, substantially as described.

7. The combination with the feeding-niachine comprising a hopper having a feedopening near the periphery thereof, stirring devices adapted to carry material in the said hopper from the center to the periphery thereof, feeding devices proper, and operating mechanism therefor, substantially as described, of a supporting bracket therefor adapted to be secured to the machine to which fiber is to be fed, the said feeding device being movable along said bracket to and from its operative position, substantially as described.

8. The combination with a hopper, of a feedopening therein, a reciprocating plunger or plungers movable into and out of said opening, a stirring device consisting of a series of blades or wings adapted to carry the material within said hopper toward said feed-opening, a rotating carrier for said blades, an inwardlyprojecting portion of the wall of the hopper beyond the feed-opening in the direction of rotation of said stirring device, and a hook or projection projecting inward over said blades, substantially as described.

In Itestimony whereof I have signed my 3o name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES M. BLAISDELL.

Witnesses:

H. J. LIVERMORE, NANCY P. FORD. 

